Woman, Child Found Murdered in Riverview, Deputies Say

A Riverview man has been charged in the murders and in an attack on a second child, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.

RIVERVIEW – A woman and a child were found dead, a second child was discovered critically injured, and a house was set on fire late Sunday (March 18) in Riverview, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.

Kenyatta Barron, 33, died at the scene. The identity of a girl found dead at the scene has not been released pending identification and notice of next of kin. Ronnie O’Neal IV, 8, was found injured at the scene. He was taken to Tampa General Hospital with multiple stab wounds. He is listed in stable condition.

Ronnie O’Neal III, of Riverview, was arrested this morning (March 19) and charged with two counts of murder in the first degree, one count of attempted murder in the first degree, one count of attempted arson in the first degree to a dwelling, and one count of resisting arrest without violence.

Deputies said they received two 911 calls. Deputies described them:

The first came to the sheriff’s office dispatch center about 11:43 p.m.from an unknown woman. During the call, the woman caller repeatedly pleads for help and tells the dispatcher that she’s been shot. When asked where she was, the caller provided a partial address of “1234.”

An unknown male can be overheard in the background yelling, “Allah Akbar.” The woman apparently said, “I’m so sorry, Ronnie,” accompanied by her loud screams An unknown male in the background can be overheard stating, “She killed me.” He can then be heard, presumably directing a neighbor, “Don’t come outside, call 911 now.”

The woman can no longer be heard from and the 911 call ends shortly after.

The second 911 call was received at the sheriff’s dispatch center about 11:51 p.m. This was from a man, who said, “I’ve just been attacked by some white demons.” Deputies said he then said, “Her name is Ke-Ke and she tried to kill me and I just killed her.”

The caller then provided an address of 13248 Pike Lake Drive, Gibsonton.

HCSO dispatch asked the caller if Ke-Ke tried to attack him and his response was, “Yes, she tried to kill me!” The phone call then disconnects.

A Hillsborough sheriff’s detective later confirmed the number to belong to O’Neal.

About 11:49 p.m. patrol deputies on scene and found a black woman lying in the front yard of the residence at 13246 Pike Lake Drive in Riverview. As they began to help the woman, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue arrived to provide medical aid to her. As they were doing so, they saw what they believed to be a fire starting in the residence next door at 13248 Pike Lake Drive.

The deputies forced entry into that house. Deputies said the garage door automatically opened and O’Neal walked out of the garage and toward the deputies. The deputies gave him multiple commands to stop and get on the ground. After all commands were ignored, deputies fired their tasers to incapacitate O’Neal. He was put in the back of a deputy’s vehicle where he began saying, “Allah Akbar.”

As firefighters entered the house that had been set on fire, an African American boy walked out of the home, apparently suffering from burns and multiple stab wounds. He told medical personnel, “My father shot my mother.”

The boy was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he underwent surgery for multiple stab wounds to his body and neck. The hospital later identified the juvenile as O’Neal’s son.

Firefighters continued searching the home and found another child, who also apparently suffered multiple stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The woman who was originally discovered in front of the neighbor’s residence was also pronounced dead at the scene. The boy was the only survivor of the three.

O’Neal was taken to the sheriff’s District IV office for an interview, where he refused to provide a statement.

Deputies said that a wallet, found on him at the scene, identified him as O’Neal. They said his clothing and left shoe had what appeared to be blood (front and back) on them. He also had what appeared to be a severe burn on his left forearm and a burn on the inside of his right pants leg. He also appeared to have other injuries, including blisters on his right index finger and thumb, cuts to the right pinky finger and thumb, and abrasions or burns to the top of his knuckles. Deputies said he also smelled of gasoline and/or another accelerant.

An agent with the Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations conducted a walk-through with an arson dog of the residence where O’Neal was found. The dog, Booker, alerted several times to the possible presence of flammable liquids in and around the residence. A red gasoline can was found within one of the bedrooms.

The Medical Examiner’s Office later arrived on scene and said both the woman and the girl appeared to be victims of a homicide.

Photo taken from video of Ronnie O’Neal III being booked at the Hillsborough County Jail. Courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.